Two nine-year-old twins, who died in a suspected murder-suicide along with an older brother, have been described as "loving, energetic and full of fun".

The bodies of Thomas and Patrick O'Driscoll were discovered by another sibling in their detached bungalow near Charleville, Ireland on Thursday.

Their brother Jonathan, who was in his 20s, was found an hour later about 10 miles away in woods near the river Awbeg, just outside Buttevant.

Image:Gardai at the scene where two children were found dead in Charleville

Unconfirmed reports suggested Thomas and Patrick had been stabbed multiple times in a frenzied attack, while Jonathan is believed to have taken his own life.

Sheila Cagney of the Banogue National School in Croom, where the twins had been for just over a year, said teachers and pupils were trying to come to terms with the tragedy.

"This is a terrible tragedy for the family, the school and the whole community. We are deeply saddened by this event," the school principal said.

Image:The twins' bodies were found at home near Charleville

"Our sympathy and thoughts are with the family and friends at this terrible time."

Post-mortem examinations are to be carried out on the three family members at Cork University Hospital.

If the murder-suicide suspicions are confirmed, it will be the second incident of its kind in Ireland in just over six weeks.

Two brothers died at their home in rural Sligo in late July. Brandon Skeffington, nine, was found with stab wounds in the family home at Tourlestrane near Tubbercurry, before the body of his elder brother Shane junior, 21, was found in a shed beside the property.

Image:Police set up checkpoints around the area after the boys were found

A study released last August examined 19 similar incidents over a 13-year period from January 2001 to the end of June last year.

The report revealed that on average one murder-suicide incident happens per year and 46 people died in the period under review.